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Franz Xaver Pichler and his son Lukas are not exactly known for light fare. Their cellar produces almost exclusively Smaragde wines of the most powerful type. A vertical of Rieslings and Grüner Veltliners dating back to 1992 showed how well these hunks hold up

Only wines from the renowned Loibner Loibenberg and Dürnsteiner Kellerberg vineyards were tasted, as well as the prestige bottlings of Veltliner ("M") and Riesling ("Unendlich"). The typicality of the vineyard stood out more than clearly in almost all the samples. The Loibenberg is blindly recognisable at all times by its intense tobacco notes, while the Kellerberg completely captivates you with its incredible minerality. The "M" version of Grüner Veltliner comes mostly from the Loibenberg. An even later harvest and a selection of the best barrels ensure even more steam here than in the Loibenberg Smaragd, which is anything but weak.

The Riesling Unendlich comes from relatively young vines with extremely limited yields. It is always the most powerful of all Wachau Rieslings and impresses early on with its exuberant, often exotic fruit. It is a completely different story with the Riesling Kellerberg. Its wild, gripping minerality literally constricts the fruit when young. Although also of titanic stature, it seems almost slender against the Unendlich. Its development potential can only be measured in decades. As overwhelming as the Unendlich is, I often prefer the Kellerberg.

An overview of the last 10 years shows that the Veltliners in particular have recently gained in substance and structure. While this was obviously not always the case in the past, today their development potential is no longer inferior to that of the best Rieslings. Quite the opposite.

The 1999 to 2001 vintages (see "Austria en Primeur") will probably go down in the history of the estate as the trilogy of the century. Rieslings, like Veltliners from these three vintages, can almost without exception only be measured in superlatives. An achievement that surpasses even the highest expectations of this world-renowned estate!

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